the slopes

at 36 weeks pregnant, there was no skiing for me but i managed to walk the ski runs instead. in retrospect, just how wise it was to walk down (then up) the runs while the skiers whizzed past is probably questionable. but hey, carpe the diem and all that jazz. plus i figured walking is probably good for me and baby. met the skiers at a few choice places that i could access on foot (and ski lift!) and generally didn't feel too left out. the views were incredible and we got lucky with the weather. i mean, check out those gorgeous blue skies! shame about the lack of snow in the village but the matterhorn is (part of?) a glacier anyway so there was plenty snow up the mountain.

walking on a ski run - not for the faint hearted!

relaxing back at the hotel. funny story - we'd a bunch of singaporean friends in town at the same time and while the kids were skiing, the "adults" visited us for coffee. with their help, we managed to find the yummiest roast chicken and snuck it back to our hotel where the staff very kindly warmed and plated it for me. i mean, that's pretty shameless, no? but they didn't bat an eyelid and were so classy about it (then probably judged me for being cheap haha)

schwarzsee was one such cafe and as if the matterhorn view need any further selling, the service was incredible. took the cable car up and reached on time, only for the skiers to have gotten lost in italy (in addition to having a cheeky pre-lunch pasta!) so we ended up eating rounds one then two when they arrived. beer didn't get warm ;)

also i went crazy for the lamb's lettuce and had it every opportunity.

and here's one of the pool in the morning, although photo credits to N cos i wasn't awake early enough to catch it the day we got snowed in!

zermatt

after a day in zurich, it was off to the mountains! 3.5h train ride to zermatt but just one change. zurich main station to visp then visp to zermatt. zermatt is car-free but thankfully there was an electric car from the hotel that met us at the train station.

tried not to scare the other guests into thinking i was after a water birth ;)

cool bat cave like entrance

beautiful balconies

pool by day

a ski holiday might not be the most pregnancy friendly of trips but because of global warming or what have you, there wasn't much snow in zermatt itself and i got lots of walking in :)

zurich

hopped to switzerland for one last burst of fire pre-baby. got clearance to fly (BA flies till week 36!) and it was all systems go. short flight (90min to zurich) and was feeling atypically energetic. flew outta london city which i much prefer to heathrow because it's smaller, more efficient, shorter queues if there's even one at immigration and less hanging about. kinda equidistant by public transport too. zurich is always good, had a bonus night there in august (?) after a missed flight heh so had been recently but jumped at the chance to stay in old town and go to bellvue christmas market.

funny story there - literally walked into A, a travel journalist i'd met in ecuador april 2013! we'd stayed at mashpi lodge in the cloud forest at the same time and hit it off. he was there on assignment writing about the cocoa industry and we tried to meet up when he was in singers but missed each other. hadn't seen him since ecuador nor communicated in years but when i saw him it kinda clicked. then i thought about how he'd said his husband was swiss and they were based in zurich so it suddenly all made sense and i said hello. he was surprised but remembered me (or pretended to at least haha) and we caught up briefly. small world and hm funny what the brain remembers ie a face from years ago vs what i ate for breakfast yesterday.

enjoyed the market so much we went back the next day in daylight for more ethnic goodies

virtuousity

after the blow out meal at ikdea, i felt compelled to improve my eating habits, if only for one meal. hence the kale salad at daylesford. but my salad had plastic in it (!!!) which they kinda replaced with a brand new salad. so i'd two. then i'd fish pie before succumbing to the baked alaska christmas pud. which no doubt undid all the damage the kale had done ;) 

did a waitrose run to use up vouchers (although i'm quite sure i got conned into spending...) cos for every £40 spent, i got £8 off. if not for the vouchers, i wouldn't have spent the £40 to begin with? but bought a whole trolley of christmas goodies for the office.

then it was off to kanada-ya for pre-theatre ramen. you know all those pre-theatre menus? yeah, nonsense. but ramen is cheaper and faster! especially when it's round the corner from theatre royale.

caught love's labour lost (i think) but was pretty much in agony for most of it and must've annoyed the theatre critics conspicuously scribbling into their spiral notepads no end with my fidgeting. something about having to sit in a chair for 2+h just did my back and sides in. did think it might be premature labour but disaster averted, was just tired.

ikeda

monkfish karaage

it's no secret that i can't get enough of ikeda and it's always a treat. hands down my all-time favourite restaurant, and it's not just me. rumour has it that redhotchillipeppers went thrice last week, and yoko*ono stops by every time she's in town. the late david*bowie, too. often too excited to dig in before photos so i've missed a couple of courses but it's consistently excellent and i love my seat by the counter where i can watch the incredibly talented chefs work their magic.

fried oysters - light and crispy, neither greasy nor stodgy in the least!

iberico pork tonkatsu

razor clams

inaniwa udon that is discontinued come 2017 :(

2016, you've been good to me

sent our annual newsletter to friends before christmas and one dear friend responded,  "...really enjoy reading your yearly updates, pity they come only once a year though" to which i replied, "our imaginary quarterly update wouldn't make for good reading - too many low lights and frustrating moments." the year end report is a blythe summary of the good things that happened, but so much more goes on behind the scenes.

it's been a busy year culminating in 3 X graduations and 2 X demanding jobs in brand new industries a world apart from our original legal skill set. we'd wanted to take it easy in 2017 but looks like surprise baby boy had other plans. 

found out i was pregnant 3 days before my first medsch final exam and sat the month-long finals in the ever-worsening throes of first trimester. abandoned a 3h written paper 2h in and went straight to A&E where I spent a miserable afternoon, convinced i'd both failed finals and lost the baby. 

passing finals was nothing short of Miraculous. my medical school has a "no exemptions" policy - sitting finals meant I'd deemed myself fit and there'd be no extenuating circumstances taken into consideration if I didn't meet the pass mark. 

starting work as a first year doctor on an acute ward in second trimester has been simultaneously the hardest thing I've ever done and also the most gratifying. immensely thankful for this kicking little life who picked what seemed like the worst possible time humanly, only to show me that God's timing is always perfect.

been blessed with a smooth pregnancy and was doing 10km hikes in switzerland at week 36 before reluctantly returning to london as late as BA would fly me, only to then road trip to dover for more coastal walking. drafting this in week 37 and hoping baby stays put till at least the new year because my prof is on holiday and only gets back 2 jan ;) hence i'm under strict instructions to be on my best behaviour and to stop 'dancing on tabletops'. everyone's warned about how life is going to change completely and i'm a more than a little apprehensive. during the boxing day sales, bought a wine fridge and whiskey cabinet but still don't have a car seat (need it to get home from hospital!), cot nor pram. totally unprepared because i don't think one can ever be prepared, i attended one antenatal class and was so put off i missed the other three, and am generally in denial about actually needing to have the baby in a matter of days to weeks. i wish i was more like those smug maternal sorts who are totally on top of things but i'm not and might never be. instead i've refused to modify my lifestyle and made it a point to escape london most weekends, if not every opportunity. was just counting the number of escapades baby has been on in utero which is essentially my travels june to december, linked if i've previously posted and you'd like to see.

week 8 highlands road trip (isle of mull, skye)

week 9 singapore

week 12 ibiza

week 13 berkshire

week 14 paris

week 16 wengen

week 18 edinburgh

week 22 copenhagen, faroe islands

week 23 oxfordshire

week 26 amsterdam

week 28 the cotswolds

week 32 paris

week 35 zurich, zermatt

week 36 wengen

week 37 dover, ascot

earlier in the year, there was 

48h NYC in february

singapore, KL and the philippines in march / april

lake district in may

and the small issue of medsch finals in may - june which have been sufficiently dramatised above.

a friend asked recently what i'd been getting up to after finishing medsch. hate to disappoint but far from anything exciting or off piste, i've been a doctor, rather predictably, and plan to remain one as long as i can. although there is eight months of maternity leave to dread / look forward to, depending on whether you're the glass empty / half full sort. again, people have told me i'll change my mind once the baby comes and i probably will. feel everything i think / say now is only valid till he arrives, then it's anyone's guess. like to think i'll take to motherhood with the same determination i approach most other commitments, but the permanence of such a transition scares me. easier to care for in than out, another well-meaning friend said when i broached the subject of induction to have some control over when baby lands on my lap. i mean, for planning purposes, having a 5 week window (weeks 37-42) when baby could potentially materialise isn't really convenient... so much to learn, so much to do. 

another bugbear, one that this isn't the most appropriate of forums for, is how much unsolicited advice i've gotten. glad not to be in singers because it's probably worse in situ but the number of nagging aunties really gets my goat. why are people so negative??? like if you've nothing encouraging to say then don't say it. stop telling me to enjoy myself / make the most of pre-baby freedom because i do and will continue to do so because i'm inherently impulsive and hedonistic without need for prompting. or people who tell me how hard / exhausting being a new mother is. how is that constructive / productive at all? if it's hard, then i'll have to deal. and worrying about it now / being anxious is a waste of time because i can't change anything. but there's no point calling out annoying types, so breathe in, breathe out and ignore :) 

looking forward to seeing the new year in on primrose hill, and bracing ourselves for our biggest adventure yet come 2017. thanks for coming by, and for reading. wishing you and yours every good thing in 2017. also, more holiday posts to follow in the next few days.

previous yearly round ups here.

work christmas 'do

all i know about office christmas parties is gleaned from love actually, with 'dark corners for dark deeds'. thankfully there was no such controversy at our work christmas 'do! didn't know what to wear so had to ask the nurses, and timed my arrival with the GP trainee cos i didn't want to be there on my own, social anxiety would've gotten the better of me. consultant was bang on time, too, but we only started dinner at 930 (!!!) despite turning up at 8. think we'd to wait for more people to arrive, especially those coming from work. it was nice to see everyone all dolled up, and because i'd already started maternity leave, could in a sense be more comfortable cos it was less of a professional setting than if i'd still been in the job. had mulled wine that didn't raise too many eyebrows and a generally chilled time.

kindness

a singaporean 'aunty friend' who was in london many summers ago invited me to join her and her relative who was based in london for lunch. we went to hackney (!!!) where i hadn't been to then, and had a lovely vietnamese meal at song que. turned out that we'd lots in common, not least being singaporean ex-lawyers. the aunty friend returned to singers but S and i kept in touch, albeit sporadically. when she heard i was expecting a boy, she very kindly started knitting for him and invited me round hers for a home-cooked meal once i started maternity leave. i was moved by her gracious hospitality, how she cooked so much and sent me home with enough food for an army. in a way it's the sort of kindness i can't repay but can only pay forward. grateful for these chance meetings and the kindness of (former) strangers.

my local

not gonna lie - the first few days of maternity leave were hard! think i woke on the first day bereft of purpose and had a little wobble. overnight i'd gone from a doctor running the ward (we were thin on the ground the days leading up to my departure!) to a stay-at-home mum without a baby to care for (yet). so instead of being mature and organised and getting ready for baby (or finishing the papers i was meant to be writing...) i sorta wallowed in this newfound freedom and paid daily pilgrimage to my local pizzeria. so much so the staff recognised me and would produce my usual without me even having to order. said usual was the daily 'meat special' and it didn't disappoint. although i had a brief throwback to my time in stockholm as an undergrad where i'd a daily (fresh) pizza habit. no frozen nonsense for me! the downside of living with a history student / construction worker was that he'd kindly pick up a pizza for me too on his way home from work. unlike him, i wasn't burning thousands of calories on a work site and just got bigger with every passing pizza.

farewell dinner

maternity leave rolled round pretty quick and my consultant was kind to organise a farewell dinner. felt far from deserving as the most junior on the team, but any excuse for a curry meal! we went back to the curry resto we'd the welcome dinner at four months ago and it didn't disappoint. the GP trainee had left too and the staff grade was also going on maternity leave, plus christmas was around the corner so it was nice to get the team together before the holidays. granted, we were due the ward christmas party the same week but it wasn't too much of a good thing ;) 

very efficient dinner - seated at 6, food by 630 and out by 730. i like how once the conversation slowed down, consultant called for the bill and we were all off to respective families at a decent hour. 

it was undoubtably a tough job, compounded by the fact that it was my first, and i'm grateful for the incredible support and guidance i received. appreciate it won't always be that good, and i lucked out with this consultant and senior support. trying not to think about what i'll be returning to (because at this stage, goodness knows!) and to live in the present. enjoying some down time before baby comes, and then the plan is to take things a day at a time. can't pre-empt every future problem, can't solve for every possible exigency.

carol service

this goes back a few weeks but i was organised enough to book tickets for a christmas carol service. was all nostalgic for the carol services i'd attended in the past and felt somewhat shortchanged that there were no carols (nor mulled wine and minced pie after!) at this one :( bumped into aunty D and she joined us for dins at the good earth opposite. had takeaway with another family friend before and my supervisor when i was at GOS kindly brought me there for chinese new year. was keen to go back but hadn't got round to it. did the lazy guai lo thing and ordered 2 set dinners for the 3 of us and there was more than enough to go round. in fact, with GOS supervisor we'd 4 set dinners among 5 of us and it was plenty! saves the hassle of having to think and i was just lazy and slightly grumpy. although in hindsight should we return, i'd order a la carte cos it'd have worked out cheaper.

B&L

the perks of having a travelcard is unlimited  all-inclusive bus rides. it was one of those lazy saturdays when i was feeling especially antisocial and woke up craving lobster. fancy, i know! am partial to the harvey nics B&L cos there's a direct lift from street level to the food hall, there's often no queue if i go early enough and it's consistently good! so i hopped on the bus and got myself there before the lunch / christmas crowd descended. have absolutely no qualms about eating alone, in fact i sorta relish it, and hm looking like the hungry pregnant woman that i am meant i got a booth seat with comfy cushions instead of having to perch at the bar on an uncomfortable bar stool like the other singles ;)

jia xiang mian

 

picked up a flyer outside earl's court tube for new chinese resto and thought to hazard it after work one day. it wasn't bad but the waiter was overly chatty and i feel bad cos he was probably just being nice. yet after a long day at work the last thing i want is to make conversation, because, really, work is all talk and i'm paid to be nice to really nasty people, so at the end of the day i'm usually emotionally and physically wiped out, just wanting some peace and quiet. he meant well, i'm sure, but he was being nosey and asking all these personal questions (where are you from, what are you doing in london, where do you work, where do you live, are you married, any children, what does your husband do etc)  and i didn't want to be rude but i sorta just gobbled my noodles and ran away ASAP.

noodles o-k, not worth the interrogation!

cheeky wednesdays

whoops so this is a couple of weeks late but it's no secret that i live for wednesdays. at uni, wednesday afternoons were always free for 'sport' which in my case was more sofa time than actual athleticism. this didn't happen after third year though :( so you can imagine my sheer delight when i learnt that wednesday afternoons were protected teaching time in my first job. and when there was no teaching, because the duty doctor would be covering the ward anyway, my consultant would still chase me off the ward to "do whatever you want". small wins, i'll take what i can get! made multiple trips to atariya on wednesday afternoons and the nice waiter eventually knew me and my order because i'm boring that way. on what was the last free wednesday before changing jobs, i thought i'd shake it up a bit and have sashimi and tempura instead of my usual chirashi. living on the edge ;)

pub lunch monday

it was monday and i met the former SHO on my ward midway for lunch. this cute little coaster sent me back to northern ireland where we'd lunch at the bushmill pub. alas, pregnant plus working lunch = only diet coke for me :(

had the fish cake with poached egg, spinach and hollandaise while M had the sausage and mash swimming in gravy. think i should've ordered that instead and was sent into a tailspin of food envy.

and because M's a busy doctor with a long list of patients to see in clinic and i was mid-protest because the ward was mayhem, i lingered and pud on my own. pineapple crumble drowned in custard was just the fuel i needed before another afternoon in paradise.